'Shinsegae Family' Annie, "The truly wealthy kids are even more frugal" ... Past stories from her school days in the U.S. revisited

SOURCE: '신세계 家' 애니, "있는 애들이 더해"…미국 유학생 모임 과거 소환

Song Jaho, CEO of Pica Project, shared stories from Annie’s high school days.

Last month, a video titled 'Gathering of South Korea's 3rd-Gen Chaebols (Real Review)' was posted to Song Jaho's Youtube channel.

During a tea time, he mentioned Annie from the group ALLDAY PROJECT. As the granddaughter of Shinsegae Chairwoman Lee Myunghee and also the eldest daughter of Chung Yookyung, Annie drew attention since her debut.

In the video, Song Jaho shared, "I went to high school in the U.S. International students often know each other even if they don't go to the same school. I had a close group of friends back then, and Annie was in it. We would hang out and have meals together."

Song Jaho said there was no talk of Annie preparing to be an idol at that time. He said, "Of course we knew what kind of family she came from. She's the daughter of the Shinsegae family. All the friends friends knew about it through rumors."

Song Jaho continued, "Of course, she lived better than I did. But how well-off can most international students really be? Children of mid-sized company owners like me are usually the one who spend the most money." He added, "I was the one who paid for meals back then. The real 3rd-Gen Chaebol kids don't have much money when they are students."

Song Jaho then shared a story about how modest Annie was during her school days, saying, "I remember the new AirPods came out while we were having a meal. Even though we were high school students and it cost only about 200,000 KRW, she was thinking hard whether to buy it or not. She jokingly said to me, 'Oppa, can't you buy them for me?' and I thought to myself, 'The truly wealthy kids are even more frugal when it comes to money.'"

Meanwhile, Song Jaho is the eldest grandson of Song Seungheon, the former chairman of Dongwon Construction. He is an art curator and businessman who publicly dated Kara’s Park Gyuri for about two years from 2019 to 2021. In July 2021, news of their breakup was reported after he was caught driving under the influence. He later went to trial for charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act and fraud related to Pica Coin.

Continue reading 'Shinsegae Family' Annie, "The truly wealthy kids are even more frugal" ... Past stories from her school days in the U.S. revisited

'Shinsegae family' Annie faces an awkward situation after returning to school ... Asks fans to 'not send emails' after her Columbia University email was leaked

SOURCE: '신세계家' 애니, 복학 직후 난감한 상황…美 컬럼비아대 메일 유출에 "보내지 말라" [엑's 이슈]

On the 24th, Annie held a 'Study With Me' livestream to do homework and study together with her fans.

While focusing on her homework on her laptop, Annie said, "Everyone, there's something I need to talk about. Honestly, I know it's very easy to find my school ID." She added, "But if you send emails to my school email address, it becomes hard for me to find emails from my professors or important messaged from the university."

She continued, "The emails you send to my college email address are all full of kind and nice words, but if there's something you want to say to me, you can write it on the DayOff app or anywhere else. If you send things to my school email address, it becomes really difficult to check my college-related emails, so please send them somewhere else."

Annie also said, "If you know my school email address, that means you probably know my schedule too. If you see me at school and say hello, I will greet you back. But there may be times when I'm not in a great condition, so I ask for your understanding in advance." She then joked, "If you want to see me, you should study hard and get into Columbia University."

She continued to interact warmly with fans, saying that if any of them gets into Columbia University, she will give them her study notes. 

Annie is the granddaughter of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myunghee and also the eldest daughter of Vice Chairwoman Jung Yookyung. She is currently majoring in Art History and Visual Arts at Columbia University, a famous Ivy League school. She has recently returned to school. As she attends the spring semester through May, the other members of her group plan to minimize downtime by focusing in various individual activities. 

Previously, when news of her return to school first came out, Annie said, "I was told early last year that I couldn't extend my leave of absence any further. I discussed it with the members and the company before making the decision. Also, I only have one semester left. I earned a lot of credits before, so I can graduate after just one more term."

Continue reading 'Shinsegae family' Annie faces an awkward situation after returning to school ... Asks fans to 'not send emails' after her Columbia University email was leaked

'Shinsegae Chairman's eldest daughter' Annie returns to Columbia University this year ... Chaebol idol

SOURCE: '신세계 회장 장녀' 애니, 새해 美 컬럼비아대 복학…재벌 아이돌

Annie (Real name: Moon Seoyoon), a member of the co-ed group AllDay Project, is returning to school.

According to her agency, The Black Label, on January 14, Annie will return to Columbia University in New York this month. She is expected to focus on the spring semester through May, but there's a possibility she may still participate in scheduled events like fan-signings during the semester.

Annie is the granddaughter of Lee Myunghee, the chairwoman of Shinsegae Group, and also the eldest daughter of Jung Yookyung, the chairwoman of Shinsegae. She is majoring in Art History and Visual Arts at Columbia University, a member of the prestigious Ivy League. After training at The Black Label under executive producer Teddy, she officially debuted in the music industry on June 24 last year as a member of AllDay Project. She had previously taken a leave of absence from college to focus on group activities.

In a video released on AllDay Project's official channel last June, Annie shared the story behind her college admission and debut as a singer. She recalled, "I asked my mom (Shinsegae chairwoman, Jung Yookyung), 'Mom, what would you think if I became a singer?' She just laughed and said, 'That doesn't make sense.' Two or three years later, I seriously brought it up again and said, 'Mom, honestly... I really want to be a singer,' and she told me it was nonsense and said, 'Absolutely NO.'"

Annie explained that opposition from her family grew even more intense during her junior and senior years of high school. She said, "I told them I couldn't give up. So, my mom made a proposal. She said that if I got into college, she would help me persuade the rest of the family. From that point on, I basically gave up on sleep and studied so hard for college entrance exams and I eventually got accepted. My mom said she didn't actually think I'd get in. She thought, 'This girl spends all day at the studio practicing dance. When would she find time to study?"

She continued, "A lot of people thought I wasn't serious about this path and doubted me. That made me feel that I had to prove how desperate and sincere I was about this dream. Just being able to get a little bit closer to the chance of debuting made me so happy, so I worked harder every single day. I think that's how I was able to push myself so fiercely."

On the November 15 broadcast of JTBC's 'Knowing Bros,' she also shared a story related to the Ivy League. When MC Kang Hodoong said, "I heard you went to the Ivy League school because of a promise to your parents?" Annie replied, "I wanted to be a singer so badly. They told me, 'If you want to be a singer, you have to get into an Ivy League school." She added that they didn't think she'd actually get in. On MBC's 'Point of Omniscient Interfere,' she drew a lot of attention after revealing that she scored 1,530 out of 1,600 on the SAT.

1. [+558][-16] She's the real gold spoon here. Being a celebrity is just a hobby to her.

2. [+449][-67] Still, it's nice to see her works so hard to do what she truly wants.

3. [+346][-15] I'm so jealous of gold spoons like her... They have so many choices... Same with Lee Seojin.

4. [+45][-2] From Teddy's perspective, she's a high-value member. She wasn't even a trainee to begin with, so he didn't have to invest money in training her... She boosts the group's recognition and brings in CF deals, making them a lot of money. If a controversy ever breaks out, Shinsegae would cover it up with their money. From a company's standpoint, where else can you find a better member?

5. [+44][-7] What about the other members she's working with?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ She's working two jobsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That is so selfish.

Continue reading 'Shinsegae Chairman's eldest daughter' Annie returns to Columbia University this year ... Chaebol idol